Feeding the Broken
by BottomlessAppleJuice
Summary: Human and troll, sexual and celibate, high and low, purple and red. Two different ends of the spectrum, just like the quadrants they both try to avoid. But how do you avoid a quadrant when every part of your relationship is leading you straight into one?


_**Oh, look, more Homestuck bullshit. Because there's not enough of that. Not to mention it's black CronKri, which there also is not enough of. Because I don't ship them red, shun me if you want. They are kismesis all the way for me, mm yes. Right, enough of my odd senseless ramblings. Enjoy the story, lovelies!**_

 __What made a relationship a good relationship? Affection, maybe, or the ability to make each other feel better when upset? That was what made a matespritship, obviously. Two trolls were red for one another, and that meant they cared for each other. So then what was it that was so appealing about kismesissitude? The two were on such different parts of the spectrum, completely different ends. One made those involved happy, one made those involved hateful. And yet, despite the obvious dangers of what could happen if a kismesissitude was taken too far, trolls continuously got involved with them, allowing them to become a part of their lives.

It didn't matter how many other quadrants were filled, as long as the two trolls involved felt that passionate hatred for each other this quadrant could also be reached. A foreign idea to humans for sure, especially those involved in the human version of a matespritship. To them, being involved in both a matespritship and a kismesissitude was taboo, unless somehow the people fell into both quadrants with each other, which was something that trolls didn't necessarily understand. Why limit yourself to having a relationship with only one other troll, or human, when you could fill both quadrants with different trolls and meet two separate needs?

It was something that baffled Cronus, for sure. Yes, he identified as human, but that didn't mean he didn't understand troll quadrants just as easily. In fact, they made more sense to him. Maybe it was just the fact that he was brought up around troll quadrants and facts and general knowledge, but maybe it was the fact that human relationships were more complicated within their simplicity. Humans went from matesprit to matesprit throughout their lives, trying to find the right one, and each relationship worked differently. Some matespritships for humans were very similar to troll matespritships, but others were like kismesissitudes, and some were even worse off than that.

And once they were in their matespritships, the humans could have separate ones on the side. To fill the same quadrant more than once.. It was an unbelievable concept, one that most trolls never thought about once, let alone actually considered. These were his thoughts, the braid of concerns and questions flowing through his thinkpan, his brain, as he stared – no, glared – at the troll across the room. Kankri. They had been close once, before everything that had happened. Before the game, during the game, even. But now that it was over, they were falling closer and closer into a dangerous cycle of arguments.

Things would be okay for a while, but then someone would say something and blow the whole thing to pieces. It was all too easy to mock Kankri for his silly vow of celibacy, to ignore his "Trigger Warnings" and lectures, to simply clamp his teeth around the cigarette he always had on him and grin while Kankri lost it. But when Kankri got revenge, like now, that's when the cycle continued on its path of destruction. Cronus knew it was only a matter of time before one of them snapped for real, and the relationship went from shaky to completely destroyed. Because thanks to Kankri's vow, the two were on the verge of a kismesissitude, but could never fully acquire one, and they both knew it. They were both waiting for the day when one of them finally lost it and made the relationship physical, but neither of them was actually willing to let that happen, as it would mean defeat. So they continued to feed off of each other, spewing hate just as easily as they released kindness at the restart of the cycle.

"Hate to break it to ya, Chief, but your opinion isn't the only one that matters here, so I'd keep that in mind before opening your mouth again." Cronus didn't even remember what had started this particular argument, nor did he care. The fact that they were in yet another was a tiring concept, and he wished nothing more than to take Kankri, pin him to the wall, and kiss him hard to shut him up. But of course, Kankri's vow kept him from doing anything of that nature. If they were going to take this and make it a real quadrant, it would be Kankri's doing, not Cronus'.

"I never said that my opinion was the only one that mattered, Cronus, I simply stated that yours is highly triggering and would probably be best kept tucked away inside that thick thinkpan of yours." Kankri knew exactly what they were going on about this time: something stupid. The actual topic in and of itself wasn't important, they never were. All he cared about was how incredibly triggering and insensitive Cronus sounded right now, and at most other times. He didn't know what had caused their shift into borderline-black, but it hadn't been gradual. They'd simply gotten up one day and something just didn't sit right with either one of them.

So now they repeated this cycle constantly. Things would start out fine, they could have normal conversation for a day or two, but then they could sense the overwhelming annoyance slowly start to build up as their opinions and personalities clashed. Ever so slightly, ever so slowly, they would begin to bite a little harder with their words, hit a little closer to home, use a little bit more venom in their voice.

And then something would snap, almost audibly. It was something obvious, if it happened around their friends it caused a noticeable reaction. One moment, they would all be having a normal conversation, then either Kankri or Cronus would say something and silence would fall as the two turned to each other. No one could pinpoint exactly how they knew the break had arrived, but it was a unanimous understanding. A warning, alarms blaring the message "ESCAPE! ESCAPE! GET OUT OF THERE! DANGER!" and they would scatter.

And so the cycle would reach its peak. They would scream at each other for hours over the simplest of mishaps, not caring about who was watching or listening, never letting it get physical, never letting it get sexual. They both understood, somehow, that letting it reach that point would change something. Move a pin within the cogs of their relationship, allowing room for more physical something-or-others.

Knowing they couldn't let that happen, they continued to feed off of each other. They continued to be broken down by the insults the other belted with his voice, allowing the verbal blows to rip at their self-esteem, to awaken monsters within themselves that they both wished they could escape or kill or something. Anything. To let this continue, to let this get physical, would probably give them both some freedom, allow them to stand each other a little longer. But they wouldn't – they couldn't – allow that to happen. Cronus because through it all, he still tried to respect Kankri's vow, Kankri because he did have the vow.

But one day, and they knew it was probably going to be one day soon, things would go farther. Things would get physical. One of them would hit the other, or kiss the other, and their whole safe bubble would collapse, break, shatter into millions of unfixable pieces. So with baited breath, they awaited that day, wondering who would be the first to give in.

 _ **Next chapter will be more about their actions, and show more about how they work together. May or may not have them snap that quickly, but there will be more dialogue next chapter. Not necessarily an argument, but something. We'll see. Whoo, Homestuck!**_


End file.
